WareWorks flipped the switch Wednesday on Jacksonville’s Southside, turning the former Venus Swimwear headquarters into a 135,000-square-foot skilled trades campus aimed at connecting students, jobseekers and employers. The new nonprofit is rolling out hands-on bootcamps, a culinary teaching kitchen, space for university engineering students and a mobile “Try-A-Trade” experience for youth and adults.
As reported by News4JAX, founder Chris Ware led a tour of the sprawling campus and laid out plans to “populate it over the next six months” with partners and programs. Ware joked that the building “must have had 10,000 bathing suits in it” when he bought the former distribution center, and organizers used the opening to unveil a content partnership with the station called Trade Up.
Inside the 135,000-Square-Foot Makeover
According to the WareWorks site, the facility is a carbon-neutral, 135,000-square-foot campus outfitted with flexible classrooms, hands-on training bays, a ready-made call center and a large cafeteria. The nonprofit says it has completed a 3,000-square-foot culinary teaching kitchen paired with a 5,500-square-foot event space and operates a resource map and a Career Pathway Platform to connect students, educators and employers. WareWorks also highlights a "Trades on Wheels" mobile learning lab designed to bring live, hands-on simulations into schools and communities.
How the Building Changed Hands
Chris Ware purchased the EastPark property at 11711 Marco Beach Drive through Marco Beach LLC, closing the deal in late January for $12.5 million, according to the Jax Daily Record. The building, renovated in 2018, includes a rooftop solar array and roughly 350 parking spaces, features organizers say will support large groups and hands-on programming. The sale followed years of shifting operations at Venus Fashion, which had reduced activity at the Southside facility.
University and Industry Partners
WareWorks says it is already hosting University of North Florida mechanical engineering students and that the site’s solar installation created opportunities for renewable energy training as part of a microgrid workforce effort. James Fletcher, a UNF engineering professor, told Eye On Jacksonville that the MWARE (Microgrid Workforce Advancement for Resilient Energy) program will give students hands-on exposure to microgrid and clean-energy technologies. Organizers plan to fold those projects into short bootcamps, internships and collaborations with local employers.
What Comes Next
Organizers say the Trade Up content partnership with News4JAX will spotlight apprenticeships, training programs and employers across Northeast Florida. WareWorks said it has partnered with the national group Be Pro Be Proud to bring a mobile "Try-A-Trade" exhibit to North Florida and will phase in programming over the next six months as partners and training activity expand inside the building.
Leaders say the aim is straightforward: lower barriers into steady, well-paid trades careers by co-locating training, employer connections and supportive services. If the early partnerships hold, WareWorks could become a visible pipeline for the technicians Jacksonville businesses say they need.
